Chelsea suspends 4 people amid Raheem Sterling racism investigation

Amid an outcry over the treatment of Raheem Sterling by England’s media and soccer fans, Chelsea suspended four people from attending its matches as police investigated whether the Manchester City winger was racially abused during a Premier League match.

Police are reviewing footage that circulated widely online during Chelsea’s 2-0 win over City on Saturday, showing a man aggressively hurling abuse at Sterling as the player retrieved the ball off the field. Others near the man also appeared to be goading the England international.

Chelsea said the club was fully supporting the police investigation and will pass on any information it gathers.

Meanwhile, Cricket West Indies (CWI) president, Dave Cameron, has questioned the commitment of West Indies players and has warned that “serious decisions” will be taken at Board level to curb the problem.

Speaking in a radio interview in Jamaica in the wake of the Windies historic series whitewash to Bangladesh in the two-Test last week, Cameron said the Board was spending “millions of dollars” to develop players but was not managing to maximise its investment.

A CWI board meeting was held in Trinidad last weekend that Cameron said would have been used to come to “serious decisions” on what is referred to as the “West Indies cricket first policy.”

The policy urges players to prioritise West Indies availability over global Twenty20 leagues, with the aim of ensuring the best squad at all times for international tours.

Cameron hinted that at the moment, players seemed to be distracted by the lure of the lucrative short format franchise cricket.